Hola
It’s been really hot on the island this week. Last weekend was gorgeous, but the temperature increased on Monday, and then peaked on Tuesday with 42 degrees away from the coast. It has dropped back to a more normal 29 degrees today but the forecast says it will climb into the mid to high 30’s early next week.
I think it’s common knowledge that a very corrupt mayor of Yaiza during the 1990’s granted loads of permissions for Playa Blanca that he shouldn’t have. Many of them continue to rumble on, decades after they should have been dealt with. The latest that has reared it’s head this week is Marina Rubicon. To make a long story short, it should never have been given planning permission, and once again, the court has ruled that it’s “illegal.” It’s a ridiculous situation, and the illegal status now applies to several hotels, and a tranche of privately owned villas in the resort. There really needs to be a straightforward way to legalise these places, because it’s far too late to force people to take them down.
Sadly we’ll miss it this year, but this weekend is one of the most magical on Lanzarote – the Romería de los Dolores, when islanders from all parts make a pilgrimage to Mancha Blanca to give thanks to the patron saint for stopping the lava from engulfing more villages during the 1730-36 eruptions, If you’re travelling anywhere on the island tomorrow, you’ll see groups of people dressed in traditional Canarian clothing, walking together. I’ve always found it profoundly moving to think that this tradition is something that started nearly 300 years ago, and has been passed down to generations of Lanzaroteños as well as to so many of us who have chosen to live on the island.
What we’ve been doing
We managed to finish painting our long garden wall over the weekend, and it looks fantastic. We have the satisfaction of a job well done. While we were working on it, I was reflecting on the fact that the wall has been there for around 200 years and I was wondering how many times it has been painted in that time. I was imagining all the previous owners who must have done the same during their time as custodians of the house.
We had some fun helping out our friends at Wine Tours Lanzarote. Along with a small group of mates, we were part of their dress rehearsal for a new tour they are offering in Arrecife, and it’s an absolute cracker! I’ll place the link at the links page for you, but the short story is that it’s a guided tour of some of the capital’s most historic parts, with several stops for traditional tapas and drinks. We loved every moment of it, and came away energised about the city, having eaten our fill as well as enjoying a very generous number of drinks!
We spent the early part of this week getting ready for our trip to Vietnam, and yesterday we flew to Barcelona. We normally use Madrid as our hub for long haul flights, but with the Madrid Grand Prix going on there, we chose Barcelona for this one. We fly to Hong Kong on Sunday, and then on to Hanoi. In the meantime, we’re staying at the W here in Barcelona, and we’re loving it so far – the views from our room across to the marina and cruise port are amazing. We were up at dawn this morning and we walked a few KMs along the promenade, which was buzzing with runners, kayakers, swimmers, bodybuilders and volleyball players. As soon as this newsletter is away, we’re be heading for the beach or pool to enjoy some chill time with our books.
In the news
The air travel chaos in the UK has been all over the news this week, with thousands having to extend their accommodation. It’s also been awful for the car hire companies, with hundreds of cancellations and re bookings to administer.
Two more tragedies this week. In the first a woman in her 60’s suffered a heart attack while hiking in Femés and died. It was the hottest day of the year, and it’s believed heatstroke was the cause. And in the second, a woman died, again from a cardiac arrest, in one of the sea pools in Punta Mujeres.
The deal to put the sunbeds and parasols back on Playa del Reducto in Arrecife has finally been signed, and they should be back there before the end of the month.
There was a scare for some home owners in Costa Teguise this week, when a fire broke out on a piece of land at the side of their houses. Fortunately the fire department arrived very quickly and put it out before there was any damage to property.
That’s it for this week. As mentioned, we have a weekend here in Barcelona to look forward to and we’ve had a recommendation from a friend for a really good rice restaurant here which we’ll be trying tomorrow. While we’re away we’ll be posting lots of stuff on our Camel Travel Facebook and Instagram, so if you want to follow along, follow us on your platform of choice.
Have a fabulous weekend wherever you are!
Un saludo
Miguel
Here’s where to see our brif news, what’s on, videos and photos: Newsletter Links.
And here’s a link you can copy and paste: https://lanzainfo.com/a-moving-weekend-in-lanzarote-newsletter-links/